Illinois is disaster and I would not touch their bonds with a ten foot pole, let alone investor's assets. Toxic

Cal made strides as they are forced to, but it is in bad shape and though they submitted balanced budget, actually a surplus, they will never get the revenue they forecast from their higher rates because people change behaviors, companies are leaving Cal en masse as are high net worth individuals. The state might be in death spiral crossing tipping point before too long if they don't change behavior, and while my crystal ball is always cloudy, I don't foresee that. I would not touch their bonds either.

I thought Cali might be the 2nd state not doing anything. I 100% agree that although they project a surplus the 13.3% top tax bracket and increased sales tax will not yield the revenue they project.

Pete, CT has a ton of problems as well that they do not seem to want to address. I guess they are alright for now but that is after they raised the sales tax and income taxes. Us New Yorkers don't mind so much when our neighbors in other states raise taxes, at least they won't be attracting our residents away!

We're not even doing okay now. Our current year deficit keeps growing faster than we can beg, borrow and steal (literally!) enough cash to keep the lights on. And in each of the next two fiscal years, well over $1B deficits are projected (with a ~$20B budget). All that, and we're still bonding ourselves into oblivion. It's not helpful to advertise it, but I sure as hell wouldn't touch CT bonds right about now.

This is what happens when states (NY is in this camp too) become overly reliant on one industry. I know its popular to attack those who make the big bucks in finance these days, but NY and CT wouldn't be able to pay the bills if those companies and individuals sought friendlier pastures.

For years were able to get away with it because the old mantra was "come on, this is New York, companies HAVE to be here." The internet has made is less necessary to operate out of the finance hubs for their day-to-day business.

NYBoglehead wrote:^I hear ya Pete. Hopefully the state is able to get it together.

This is what happens when states (NY is in this camp too) become overly reliant on one industry. I know its popular to attack those who make the big bucks in finance these days, but NY and CT wouldn't be able to pay the bills if those companies and individuals sought friendlier pastures.

For years were able to get away with it because the old mantra was "come on, this is New York, companies HAVE to be here." The internet has made is less necessary to operate out of the finance hubs for their day-to-day business.

Interesting recent article in WSJ (cant remember but within the past few days) about finance companies leaving NY for the exact reasons you stated.....Internet.

Larry,Thanks for the breath of fresh air. It's kinda nice to hear from people with a positive outlook.

It's nice to live in a state with an actual surplus (mostly because we aren't afraid to responsibly use our natural resources)

2013 for our household looks very optimistic, going to be adding twins, due in a month ...that might be optimistic from a happiness standpoint, but our Roths and 401K's might not look so favorably at the competition they get from diaper and daycare costs

NYBoglehead wrote:^I hear ya Pete. Hopefully the state is able to get it together.

This is what happens when states (NY is in this camp too) become overly reliant on one industry. I know its popular to attack those who make the big bucks in finance these days, but NY and CT wouldn't be able to pay the bills if those companies and individuals sought friendlier pastures.

For years were able to get away with it because the old mantra was "come on, this is New York, companies HAVE to be here." The internet has made is less necessary to operate out of the finance hubs for their day-to-day business.

Interesting recent article in WSJ (cant remember but within the past few days) about finance companies leaving NY for the exact reasons you stated.....Internet.

Reggie,

I saw that too. It was mentioning that several hedge funds are re-locating or starting up in Palm Beach, FL. I guess they didn't get the memo that they "had" to be in NYC. The tax savings for very high earners (top tax rate in NYS is 8.82%, NYC is another ~3.8ish%) is significant by switching to a state without an income tax.

Nevada is doing a lot better than in the recent past. That is a good indicator because people come here when they have surplus money to donate to our rich casinos. And i don't disagree with the headline. After years of the Fed holding the pedal to the metal, one would expect things to pick up eventually. dave